an image of my dog - Teddy - in the legend paintingAs I shared in my previous post, The Making of a Legend, I’m in a nine month program to create my soul work, develop my art skills, create some programs and add a little (ok, a lot of) writing to the mix.  The following is an excerpt from my chronicles which I wrote as I was creating my Legend painting.  I hope you enjoy a glimpse of my sacred journey.  Thanks for joining me.

 

Ready, yet trepidacious, I ponder the visit to my legendary place; the place where order lies in tribes called to council by sage shamans unshackled by time or space.  The plushness of my comfy chair caresses my backside as I look around me. The walls that currently enclose me attempt to camouflage the prison bars with my favorite Tuscan colors of mustard and burgundy, but I see through the thinly veiled attempt to use beauty to distract me from the dungeon.

I keep myself here, I remind myself.  In the comfort of the known, spending hours at my desk with the false belief I’m doing good work. I’m not.  I’m doing “busy” work that fails to further either my heart’s calling or my purpose.

I know not the Way.  The Way I crave and believe must be revealed to me by someone wiser than myself.  However, the belief that I will find my way by following an external guide is being revealed for the fallacy it is.  She who knows is not without, she is within.  It’s time to visit her.

Silently and easily, my Tuscan view gives way to new terrain.  A single track trail meanders through a forest, moss encrusted rocks lining the path.  The path yields to a waterfall, its pearlescent streams falling to earth as the veil of a bride ready to reveal the beauty awaiting on the other side.  I approach with a certainty of the adventure beckoning on the other side.

The waterfall closed behind me as my personal Narnia greeted me.  As I stepped forward, a panoramic view of the jungles of time and space surrounded me.  Softly and with a sure foot, my warrior guide dog, Teddy, appeared from the ethers and stood nobly by my side. My first gift. I dropped to my knees and wrapped my arms around him.  His thick golden fur filled the gaps in my fingers as I squeezed him with glee.  To feel his body once again.  I buried my nose in his neck and savored his scent.  He was real. 

As I stood up, my attention shifted to my body.  My bare feet glistened with drops of water from the waterfall.  My blue jeans were replaced with a rich chocolate brown leather hide skirt with a matching halter top, both accented with red stones.  A turquoise necklace layered my neck and chest while a silver metal band wrapped my right bicep.  My body was tan and fit, a warrior in her element.  My hand moved to my hair, which was topped with an ornate head dress.  I had come home.  I felt strong and beautiful in my body.

Teddy and I walked to a clearing where we joined all the women in the council.  They were magnificent in all their glory.  Their attire was as diverse as their personalities, from African tribal robes and silk wrapped head dresses to flowing goddess gowns to animal hides and whimsy fairy wings.  Laughter filled the air as dancing communicated the connection from ancient times.  We knew one another instantly and communed in nature, each a force on her own and at one with the sisterhood.

Our shaman appeared from the lodge and instructed us to each find a special tree – a tree that contained a message for us.  As Teddy and I wandered off the beaten path, we came upon a stand of century old Redwood trees. My tree beckoned me.  She was magnificent! My outstretched hands could not fully embrace her, and merely covered a small portion of her mammoth trunk.  With my eyes shut, I stood with my back against her and felt the power of Mother Nature surge through me, feeling the years that had come and gone, the wisdom shared and the strength endowed. 

I stepped forward and turned to face my messenger.  “Life is but a mere illusion of my creation,” I thought as Teddy and I stepped into the tree, surely the unsuspected harbinger I sought in my material world.

I looked around and realized I was one with the tree; surrounded by and part of the milky dense pulp, a visceral fog of nature. I wondered where the rings were, wanting to count the years of this massive tree, but was unable to see them.  I became very present to the knowledge that this is the universe and I’m an integral part of it, not separate in form or function. It was magnificent and simple.  And there, waiting for me, suddenly visible in the layers of the life force, was my message from my oracle.  She told me to go within and Teddy and I would discover her.

As natural as a scene from the Matrix movie, Teddy and I walked into my body and were transported to a comfortable sitting room where we were greeted by my oracle. Words were not shared as she simply held space for me to take in all that had transpired and become one with the understanding that I had come home and was expected to bring back to the physical world all the wisdom within me; that I had nothing to fear; that I came from a source that was loving and abundant; that people were waiting for my message; that I found my tribe and they will support me in the physical world and that I could return to her when I needed access to my greatness and wisdom.

As I let this sink it, one thing was clear…  

It has begun.

Joan Jakel

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